Pro's and Con's

I've found that I have this internal dialogue where I keep a running tally of pro's and con's of living in San Francisco. Now, when I say "con" I truly mean it in the most positive and optimistic way. It's more of a small dislike. I find myself daily in a situation where I think to myself "wow, this is super cool! Totally a pro of living in SF." But I also have the opposing side where I think to myself "I could do without seeing/smelling/having that happen to me again."
This brings me to my running tally of pro's and con's.

Pro: This is entire city is a photographer's dream. There is always something to take a picture of because everywhere you look it's awesome. I wish I was more talented in taking photo's because I really love what I get to see everyday.

Con: This city smells of pee. In some places the smell is so intense I find myself not inhaling. Which brings me to the reason it smells of pee... Having to watch people do their business on the street is definitely not my favorite. I know you're thinking; "Courtney look away!" I can't it's too absurd and interesting.

Pro: People here in the city are so nice and usually very generous! I've purchased many household items off Craigslist and my experience with these complete strangers has been pleasant. It's nice to feel so welcome in a huge strange city.

Con: People are nice until they become a driver of a vehicle. Something happens when they strap the seatbelt and put their foot on that peddle. DO NOT get in their way. Cross them, and you will be cursed at for a solid 60 seconds.

Pro: As strange as it sounds, I rather enjoy taking public transportation. I hop on a bus and it takes me to my destination. I don't have to worry about finding a parking spot or dealing with those crazy psycho drivers. I know it doesn't work for everyone but for me I prefer it.

Con: Parking. I purposefully do not drive in this city as much as possible because I do not enjoy the nightmare of parking. I have found that most of the time I could have walked to my destination quicker than driving and circling streets for an eternity before I find a spot in which I have to parallel park. Now is a good time to admit that I have yet to successfully parallel park a car. This may attribute to my frustration. But I'd rather not wreck my vehicle so give me a break.

Pro: Google Express. Why? I need toilet paper. I order it. And it's there before I get home from work. Enough said.

Con: Everything here is expensive. Granted it's California and a large city. But it still gets me when my grocery bill is sometimes double what we used to spend.

Pro: The weather is awesome. As I write this in the middle of July I am comfortably wearing a sweater and pants. It's great. I sometimes forget that summer weather exists. But having a constant state comfort weather is something I think I'm going to get used to. Our utility bill is excellent too because we have yet to turn on the heat. (AC doesn't exist here).

Con: Those days of getting anywhere in 15 minutes or less are over. Even if you drive somewhere you have to plan an extra 15 minutes to find parking. It's just what you do.. hence why I never drive. It just worth walking or taking the bus.

Zip code 94123

Joe and I are here in San Francisco now. What a journey it has been to get here but boy are we excited to finally be here. We were very lucky to have a smooth and safe move out of Dallas. We rented a little 4x8 trailer to pull with our car. We sold all of our furniture and only brought boxes of the essentials leaving quite a bit at my parents because we didn't think there would be very much room to store extras in SFWe spent about a month in Utah and it was wonderful. We were pretty busy with Cassidy's graduation, Chris and Dayana's wedding, lake Powell and just trying to spend time with everyone before we left. Dad even gave everyone a scare by having a massive heart attack! Luckily, Dad is ok and we had a wonderful time being in Utah. We left for SF with the trailer again and arrived after spending the night at Joe's Grandma (who fed us the most delicious meal of taco's and green chili's and rice that I have honestly ever had in my life.) We spent about a week and a half with the Muir family who are family friends of Joe's parents. They live in the east bay and were very nice to let us stay with them while we found our apartment. Nailing down our place was no easy task. We spent a lot of time and money applying for apartments and attending open houses and then one day we were told someone had accepted us! We now live in a cute 500sq ft studio apartment in The Marina. It's a great neighborhood on the north end of the city. I love it so far. We are 4 blocks from the water and the Golden Gate is always peeking through houses. It's also surprisingly quiet which I was not expecting. We've been able to furnish most of our apartment from craigslist with the exception of our couch and mattress.. those we bought new. We're going to get creative with organizing and furnishing our space but that will come with due time. We love our ward and have met so many other couples in our same situation already. It's like an instant family of friends.
I was able to get a job pretty quickly which I am very grateful for. I work front desk/admissioins support at Bay Area Medical Academy which is a career training school. I enjoy what I'm doing so far and really like all the people I work with. I take about a 25 minute bus ride and sometimes Joe might be able to ride with me! Speaking of, Joe starts school tomorrow! It's so crazy. He is more nervous than anything I think. Joe is wonderful and has found all the in and outs to help us out. He has gotten everything set up from internet to bus passes. I am so lucky. Dental school is not going to be easy for him but I am grateful that he is so dedicated and determined.

Holiday update

Joe's 24 Birthday - Joe got to spend the majority of his birthday at the airport because he was in San Francisco interviewing at UoP the day before. He woke up really early because his flight home left around noon and he wanted to see the sights. He made it to Fisherman's Warf and Ghiradelli Square for breakfast where he had a bowl of clam chowder and a chocolate milkshake. (the best birthday breakfast ever right?) He didn't arrive in Dallas until 6 that night so we had time for dinner and presents! Joe's birthday dinner has been at Texas Roadhouse since we've been married so of course I thought it was only fitting to take him there. It was wonderful! I spoiled Joe with a handmade Teipi Teranishi indigo leater wallet. He was in love. Teranishi is a member Thrice and he has been eyeing his handmade leather goods for ever. I also got him a volcom hat, a season of scrubs. We went out to dinner with Kathryn and the Hatch's the following day and spent the evening bowling! 

Thanksgiving- The whole Phillips gang made it out to Dallas for Thanksgiving this year! It was a really fun couple of days to spend with everyone. Luckily the Hatch's have a giant home and everyone was able to be together. We had a delicious meal that the women prepared hard for. With the family have so many dietary restrictions it got a little difficult to accommodate everyone. But everyone was full after the night was over! Throughout the week we spent a lot of time playing games, entertaining the little ones and just having a good time being with loved ones. We even had a family "lip-sync off". Joe, Kathryn and myself totally dominated this competition. We choreographed a number to Larger than Life by The Backstreet Boys. It was award winning. 

Christmas- My family decided to have a little reunion this year for Christmas. We have not all been together since Clint graduated from BYU... so probably 4-5 years. My parents helped pay for flights which was the best Christmas gift ever. Going back to Cedar was quite enjoyable actually. After moving to the flat lands of Texas I sure do miss those beautiful mountains Utah has to offer. It wasn't too cold while we were there so that nice.  Everyone was able to have a room and bed at my parents house. Joe met Clint for the first time during a quick meetup in November so this was the first Joe really got to be a part of my whole family. He fits in so well with us, it sweet really. I think its crazy that I have 3 nieces and nephews on my side already. It was so much fun playing with little Lexi and Nora for the week. They are adorable little baby girls and so different from each other. Skyler is also my best bud and I love that kid to death. I think the adults played the card game Bohnanza every night! We also got to spend a couple days at Janet's cabin in Brian Head. That was so much fun! Joe and I even got a morning in of boarding which was seriously the best. I loved being able to be with my family for an extended period of time. We are all so spread out that I really cherished Christmas. 

My Birthday- I turned 23 this year! Joe took me to Maggiano's for dinner and to the movies. He surprised me at home with a Kitchenaide! HE IS SO COOL! I now get to make delicious treats straight from my kitchen. He also picked out some very cute shoes for me too! The other part of my Birhday present was tickets to see Pixar in Concert with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. This was the BEST concert that I have ever been to. No joke. I loved being able to hear and recognize tunes from our favorite Pixar movies. 

Fall 2013

Since Summer 2013 so much has happened! Joe still works with Pacific Dental Services as an ortho assistant. Sometimes he even gets to assist other specialties throughout DFW. It’s really been a blessing and fantastic opportunity for Joe because he is able to get experience in a lot of different dental areas. His job also offers benefits! That’s right, we are abiding American citizens with health insurance! It’s a great feeling and now we are able to begin trying to start our family. We also snagged vision, dental and auto.. It’s awesome. The only downside of his job is the travel time. Dallas is a huge city and Joe basically travels to the four corners of this huge city throughout a week. He leaves around 8:00am and gets home anytime around 7:00pm and spends most of his time in traffic. He loves it! (not) I on the other hand travel about 10 minutes for my job. I got a job working as an optometric technician with an optometrist here in Frisco. I really enjoy by position and get paid quite decent. Decent enough that Joe and I were able to get an apartment for ourselves while we finish out our time here in Frisco.  We found a cute little one bedroom place in a brand new apartment complex. It just so happened to be in the same ward boundaries as well. Joe and I are both in Primary and we really didn’t want to leave our classes.
In our spare time (which is pretty minimal with the both of us working full-time) we are usually finding something new and awesome about this area we’re in. We shop a lot and eat out a lot too! It’s just so fun to be at this point in our life where we can afford to provide things for ourselves.
And finally with the best news of all… After months of interviews and lots of moolah exiting our bank account Joe was accepted in to dental school. University of the Pacific in San Francisco, CA is going to be home for these two in about 6 months. We are pretty excited and terrified for this step in our life. It’s going to be a crazy three years coming up but we (especially myself) are definitely ready for a new adventure!